Come to my Window
by Herascat
Summary: One song is the catalyst for her love. MP/J


Disclaimer: I don't own Pretender or any of the characters, and I'm just borrowing the lyrics from Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window"

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As he walked toward the doors he began to question, once again, if she was worth it. His thoughts flashed to when they were children. She had been his first real friend, his first kiss, his first love. They would always be there but in this moment he once again doubted her love for him. His pretends had always led him to the same conclusion: she loved him; she just didn't know it yet. He steeled his nerves and pushed the large glass doors open, stepping into the main hallway. Within moments of entering the building, the Sweepers were on him.

Talk about excessive force, several bruises and a split lip later Jarod was sealed in his old room. To keep himself from panicking he thought about Parker. It was only a matter of time before she would get his package and he could only hope that she would understand. He had to remain hopeful, she would come to him, and he had to believe that.

Of all the things that Jarod had sent her over the years this blew them all out of the water. It wasn't just the toys, the slinky, the Mr. Potato Head, the barrel of monkeys, the candy; it was the personal affects: his DSA's, his jacket, several red notebooks. This box was full of his life, the more she thought about it the more she felt like he was giving up. But it was all so unlike Jarod to give up. She sifted through the items in the box looking for some kind of answer. Finally she found a note.

It was stuck to a CD case with just the words 'This is the end of the chase.' in Jarod's typical black letters. She stared at the note for a moment before removing the unmarked CD from its case. Parker wandered over to her large entertainment system wondering what the hell was going through Jarod's head. Placing the CD in the player and starting the song. The sultry voice echoed through the living room and Parker took a seat, recognizing the music but she listened closer to the lyrics than she had before.

The mechanical grinding of her teeth accompanied the music; frustration was quickly outweighing the curiosity she had first experienced.

Come to my window  
Crawl inside, wait by the light  
of the moon  
Come to my window  
I'll be home soon

I would dial the numbers  
Just to listen to your breath  
I would stand inside my hell  
And hold the hand of death  
You don't know how far I'd go  
To ease this precious ache  
You don't know how much I'd give  
Or how much I can take

Just to reach you  
Just to reach you  
Just to reach you

Come to my window  
Crawl inside, wait by the light  
of the moon  
Come to my window  
I'll be home soon

Keeping my eyes open  
I cannot afford to sleep  
Giving away promises  
I know that I can't keep  
Nothing fills the blackness  
That has seeped into my chest  
I need you in my blood  
I am forsaking all the rest  
Just to reach you  
Just to reach you  
Oh to reach you

Come to my window  
Crawl inside, wait by the light  
of the moon  
Come to my window  
I'll be home soon

I don't care what they think  
I don't care what they say  
What do they know about this  
love anyway

Come to my window  
Crawl inside, wait by the light  
of the moon  
Come to my window  
I'll be home soon

Parker jumped up from the couch running to the CD player and ripping the whole unit out of the entertainment center. Throwing it against the wall she screamed, "Damn you Jarod, why now?"

The anger that kept Parker upright dissipated as quickly as it had come and she collapsed. The tears that started streaming down her face surprised Parker; she stared at her wet fingertips attempting to quell the urge to cry.

The tears didn't stop as Parker sat crumpled on the ground. Frustration overtook her once again and she got to her feet, walking to the kitchen with the wetness still streaming from her eyes. The song echoed through her head, what was he thinking? It was a love song, they weren't in love or maybe…she stopped that train of thought immediately.

Reaching into the cabinet she pulled out a bottle of forty year old scotch and poured herself a strait glass of the amber liquid. She briefly contemplated pouring it out because of her ulcer, but thought better of it, downing the glass in one swallow. She poured another. Pattering back into the living room she pulled a soft blanket around her body letting the blanket and alcohol warm her body.

She felt the alcohol seep into her brain, her empty stomach not slowing down its effects at all. Draining the glass again she dragged her body back to the bedroom and crawled into bed.

Parker had been running for far too long. Her breath was coming out in short gasps and the muscles in her legs were going to give out any moment. Then IT would catch her, and that was one thing she wouldn't…couldn't allow to happen. Briefly her thoughts drifted to Jarod, Is this what he feels like when I chase him? Suddenly she couldn't run anymore her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground. The impact jerked her forward and she looked around. Her ragged breathing filled the bedroom with an eerie sound. Once her breath returned to normal she lay back down on the sweaty black silk sheets, shifting so shirt was no longer a vise around her chest.

She didn't fall asleep right away instead she turned her thoughts to Jarod, maybe he did love her. Maybe that's what the song was about… She fell asleep with these thoughts drifting through her head.

It had been too long, if Parker had gotten his package she would have been here by now. The hope that he had carried began to crumble. She wasn't going to come to him. He refused to speak to anyone, including Sydney and he didn't eat. The Centre couldn't force him to talk, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Jarod just couldn't care about any of it, without Parker it didn't matter. After another hour of Sweepers unsuccessfully trying to extract information from him, Jarod was dumped into his room.

Emerging from deep slumber Parker discovered it was well past noon and she hadn't awakened to her alarm clock. She pulled her tired body out of the bed and stumbled into the bathroom to shower…and vomit, her ulcer was angry with her. With the water running over her, cleaning the dirty feeling from her body and spirit she had an epiphany. That was what the song was for. Not only did he love her, she loved him.

Parker started a list in her head even as she ran to the attic in nothing but a towel. Within the hour Parker had a Jeep that she knew the Centre had never seen, let alone bugged packed with a suitcase for herself, some of her personal items from her parents (the ones she had been raised by, not Mr. Raines) and Jarod's package. Now dressed in casual clothes, jeans and a hoodie, she got in the Jeep heading for a department store.

Parker used an assumed name and a credit card that had that false name to buy toiletries and clothing for Jarod. The same credit card was used to buy gas, just before she parked in the Centre parking lot. The lot was nearly empty. Ever since the incident on Carthis Raines had run the skeleton crew at the facility, not wanting to loose any more vital components of their Delaware team.

Taking a deep breath Parker got out of the Jeep and walked toward the entrance. She found Sam in the lobby. "I hear the labrat turned himself in this morning."

Sam turned to her, taking in her appearance with raised brows. "It was almost two days ago but yeah, he's in his old room."

Parker gave him a cold smile. "Well then, I think I'm going to go taunt the animals." She strode away from Sam with her usual swagger.

She progress through the halls that she had traversed as a child. She was once again heading towards Jarod. Her first friend, her first kiss, her first love, she hesitated outside his door.

Jarod heard footsteps coming down the hallway and glanced at the closed steel door. The soft pad of tennis shoes wasn't Miss Parker, the click of stilettos was a much a part of Parker as her vivid blue eyes. He sighed and turned his back toward the door. When the scrape of steel on concrete sounded he closed his eyes and willed his breathing to slow.

As she stepped over the threshold into Jarod's room she was greeted by his form in fetal position on the floor. His bed had been removed as punishment at some point and he was left with nothing but a desk and some papers. She let out a sob at the sight of his bare surroundings, the tears streamed down her cheeks as she rushed to kneel beside him.

He felt her presence before he heard her begin to cry. His skin prickled when her hands began to caress his shoulder and face. He opened his eyes. "Parker, the cameras."

She pulled away quickly remembering to keep her back to the camera by the door. She pointed to his split lip, "What did they do to you?"

He knew that the cameras would pick up every bit of their conversation, so he motioned for her to be silent. "Just a little of the Sweeper's excessive force. Nothing to worry about." As he spoke, Parker sat fully on the ground next to him and he noticed her attire for the firs time. "Why are you wearing jeans?" He was genuinely confused.

Parker shook her head 'no' and moved to stand. She sauntered over to the camera and spoke into it. "Give me some time alone with the labrat; I'll turn it back on when I'm done." She yanked the cord out of the wall and turned back to Jarod. "We have five minutes before they suspect anything." She reached out to take his hand.

He just stared at her. "What are you doing?"

"Did you really think that I wouldn't get it after you sent me that song? That I wouldn't come for you? Jesus Christ Jarod, I love you!" She fell to her knees and held his face close to hers. "I'm getting you out of here." She leaned in to kiss his lips softly.

Jarod jolted back from Parker's kiss, a questioning look in his eyes. She leaned back toward him again and let her lips caress his once more. He pulled her flush against his body and started kissing her with vigor.

Soon he was on his back and Parker was on top, kissing his neck, face, lips, anywhere her lips could reach. Their tongues tangled and dueled until she suddenly sat up. "We have to leave." She stood and helped Jarod get to his feet as he finally took her hand.

He led her through the ventilation shaft just as the Sweeper team kit the room. They could hear the commotion in Jarod's room as they swiftly moved toward the outdoors. When they reached the last shaft a gunshot sounded behind them. The bullet hit the wall they had just passed. They took off up the ladder as fast as possible. When Jarod opened the hatch and they got the first blast of winter Delaware chill racing down the tunnel towards them. Jarod exited the shaft first then turned to help Miss Parker up. She just cleared the edge when a bullet shot out of the hole. They moved quickly to close their exit, but knew it would only slow down the Sweepers.

"We need to get out of here now!" Jarod grabbed her hand and pulled her into the front parking lot. She nearly laughed as he looked for her usual car.

She started tugging him toward the green Jeep. "This one, the Centre can't trace it." She let him get into the drivers seat and she scanned the area for Sweepers as he started the SUV. It was ridiculous how inefficient the Centre had become; nobody exited the building before the vehicle had left the parking lot. "I don't know if their going to follow us, but I suggest we get to traffic and try to loose ourselves in the scurry."

Jarod glanced over at her. "I think I have a better idea. Do you think that you'll be able to drive for a few hours?" She noticed for the first time that his voice sounded tired, almost exhausted.

"I can drive for a while. Where do you want me to go?"

"Take the 13 all the way down into Virginia, when we cross the state line we can stop." He saw Parker's brow furrow as he pulled off to the side of the highway. They switched seats quickly. Parker merged back onto the highway. She looked at Jarod every so often watching as he fell asleep.

She drove for hours before entering Virginia and as loathe as she was to do it, Parker woke Jarod.

He jerked forward when she shook his shoulder, frantically searching for the source of disturbance and trying to regain his bearings. "Jarod, we just got to Virginia. Do you want me to keep going?"

He took a shuddering breath before answering her. "Yes, you want to keep heading south. We're going strait into Belle Haven. It's right off the freeway." They drove in silence for the hour it took to get to the Belle Haven exits.

"Which exit do we want to get off on?" Parker broke the silence when the first sign came into view.

"You want to get off on County Line Road and make a right then make a left on Mason Street. It's the first house on the right." Jarod didn't seem too excited about being so close to…home? Was that what it was?

"Jarod, where are we going?" Parker was starting to grow tense.

"I already told you." One look at the brunette beside him was enough to know that his answer wasn't enough. "It's where we've been living since Emily and my father met up again.

"And you trust me enough to bring me to your family home?" She was surprised despite the admitted love and the escape she hadn't really done much to earn his trust. "I do appreciate you bringing me here, but I haven't exactly had the best track record with your family." She tried to sound as apologetic about the situation but couldn't quite pull it off.

Jarod chuckled at her attempt at sincerity. "Ethan and JJ, as my younger clone likes to be called, will be excited to see you. And although my father and Emily don't have the best opinion of you they trust my judgment. And I _do_ trust you." He reached out to grip her hand as she turned into the driveway, their fingers entwined and he ran his thumb over the smooth skin of her hand.

Stopping the car in front of a large grey house parker turned to him. "I know you do and I swear that you will never regret it." She leaned in and kissed him soundly. Intending to pull away she gave him one last soft peck; Jarod had different ideas and wrapped his hand in her dark hair pulling her lips back to his. Slipping his tongue into Parker's mouth he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. They sat in the Jeep kissing for what felt like forever. Finally they pulled apart breathing harshly then came together once again. Darkness descended on the car as the lights tuned off. Jarod pulled away, tracing Parkers lips with his thumb he smiled tenderly.

Parker caught her breath before speaking. "We each have a box of things in the back and you have clothes and toiletries in the brown suitcase. I just need to grab the black one for right now. We can leave the boxes until morning I just want to take a shower and go to bed." She got out of the car and Jarod followed.

As quietly as they could Jarod and Parker entered the house and started down one of the hallways. "We have three wings in the house. There are three bedrooms in the south wing, my wing, and four in the east and north. We'll be alone in this part of the house, so if you want to take a guest room there's one right next to mine." He whispered all this as they walked back through the inky blackness.

She stopped him before they could reach the doorways at the back of the hall. "If it's all right with you, I'd rather sleep with you." Jarod gave her a small kiss before leading her into what was obviously his room.

"I'm going to use the shower down the hall. You can use the shower through that door." He motioned to a side door. She set her suitcase down and pulled out her toiletries bag and a modest silk nightgown. She entered the bathroom before Jarod left the bedroom.

Jarod rummaged through the suitcase looking at the items that Parker had gotten for him. He was impressed that she knew his size and what type of clothes he would wear. He pulled out a pair of silk pajama pants and something rolled out of them. He picked up the bottle cologne, Armani. It wasn't what he would pick for himself but he shrugged and took it into the bathroom with him.

Steam wafted out of the bathroom when Parker opened the door walking into the bedroom. Jarod wasn't in bed yet so Parker crawled into her normal side of the bed. She was nearly asleep when Jarod finally entered the room. When he climbed under the covers Parker rolled over to him. "Mmmm you smell so good." The vibration of his laugh made her nose tickle.

"I expect nothing but the best when you pick it out." When Parker draped herself over his torso he wrapped his arms around her. They were asleep almost instantly.

Jarod heard pounding through the haze of sleep right before the bedroom door slammed open. He jerked awake to find Parker still in his arms and Ethan and JJ in the doorway. "Shhh, Parkers still asleep." He extracted himself from her embrace before leading his brothers away from his room.

"So she finally came for you." Ethan asked. He had known about Jarod's plan but was hesitant to ask specific in front of JJ.

JJ wasn't paying attention to their conversation. "Why did the Sweepers beat you up?"

Ethan laughed at JJ's lack of restraint but waited for Jarod's response. "Parker took a little while longer than I anticipated and they wanted information. It's really not as bad as it looks." He ruffled JJ's hair before speaking again. "Ethan is there any way that you could start breakfast. Parker and I will be down in about fifteen minutes."

Bouncing up and down JJ tugged on Ethan's sleeve. Laughing Ethan pulled him away from the door. "Okay kiddo; let's go do pancakes and eggs."

Jarod could hear JJ asking about bacon as they moved away from him. He opened the door quietly, glancing at the empty bed. Parker came through the bathroom door already dressed in black jeans and a cerulean button down shirt. "I suppose that means you're ready for breakfast." He passed her to get black jeans and a black long sleeved shirt from his dresser.

"Jarod," She stopped him from entering the bathroom. He tuned to her, a questioning look in his eye. The frown on his face when she glanced at it made her smile drop. She slipped her hand to cup his neck. "I wanted to thank you again for bringing me here."

"I already told you why…" Parker interrupted him.

"That wasn't the thank you." She kissed him softly. "This was."

Jarod's eyes shone in amusement, he leaned down for another kiss. The clothing fell from his grasp as his hands wrapped into her hair. The melting of lips was slow and passionate each pressing their bodies closer to the other. Parker pulled his lower lip between her teeth nibbling on the sensitive flesh. Jarod moaned as his hand wandered down her body leaving goose bumps in its wake. Finally his palm came to rest on the curve of her backside pulling her body closer to his pelvis. It was her turn to moan when his arousal pressed into her groin.

"Jarod…" She sighed into the crook of his neck when his lips wandered to her neck. "Jarod…we need to…get out to breakfast." She weakly pushed at his shoulders.

Kissing her one last time Jarod stepped back. "You're right." Her fingers fell from his body and Jarod grabbed his clothes from the floor.

When he finally closed the door, Parker brought her fingers to touch her swollen lips. She sat on the bed to get her breathing under control. The mirror across the room provided Parker with a disheveled reflection. As she combed her fingers through her hair Parker noticed an angry red mark below her collar bone. Growling she buttoned the shirt up all the way, covering the love bite that Jarod had left. She scowled at him when he finally emerged from the doorway fully dressed.

"What did I do now?" He teased after seeing her look. She continued to glare as she showed him the mark. When he only started laughing Parkers eyes widened and she stormed out of the bedroom.

Jarod ran after her, grabbing her arm to swing her body back around to face him. "I'm sorry that I got carried away. I didn't mean to actually leave a mark; I just can't help myself around you."

By the look on her face, Jarod could tell that he hadn't fully appeased Parker's anger. Instead of trying further he took her hand and led her into the kitchen. JJ and Ethan were waiting at the table for the couple to arrive, Parker's ire faded when she noticed JJ squirming in his seat. "Excited to see me again?" She opened her arms to envelop him in a hug. "Oh I missed you so much JJ. I thought about you all the time. How have you been doing?" She sat down across from him and listened to his nonstop chatter as she picked at her food.

A small smile stayed plastered to Jarod's face, even as he noticed Parker's lack of appetite. Leaning over he whispered in her ear. "If you don't eat breakfast I'm going to have to take you back to the bedroom and spank you." He wasn't sure if his pseudo threat would be taken well after the incident this morning.

Her eyes widened for a moment before a smirk settled on her lips. "As interesting as that sounds I think I'll just eat a little more." Leaning back in his chair, Jarod supervised breakfast.

Halfway through her meal Parker looked up and all hell broke loose. Staring straight at her was a very pissed off Emily. Her eyes went wider for a moment before the yelling started.

"What the hell is she doing here!? Are you fucking crazy Jarod? This bitch tried to kill us and you brought her to our house?"

Jarod's eyes shifted from his sister's red face to his father. At least Major Charles wasn't yelling, but he didn't look that happy. "Emily, please calm down." He waited for her tirade to come to a close before explaining. "Parker and I escaped the Centre last night, she rescued me."

Emily's mouth opened and closed several times before she was able to formulate a coherent thought. "You're delusional." It was the only thing that made any sense. "She's lying to you and now we're all going to be screwed because you trusted her."

"No you don't get it Em, I love her." Her look of disbelief prompted him to continue. "I do love her and she loves me too…" He trailed off as Emily started ranting again.

When Emily finally quieted, Parker eyed her cautiously before speaking. "Emily, I know that I've given you plenty of reasons to not trust me in the past, but I do love your brother. And before you start yelling again let me just explain something to you. The Centre has taken my entire family away from me: the parents I was raised by are both dead because of them and my baby brother was sacrificed for Raines' pursuit of information. And he, by the way, wants either me or the psychopathic twin brother of mine dead. The only people I have left in this world are right in this room. So if you really want me to leave I will but I can't go back to the life I had before, I can't go back to the Centre."

Meeting Emily's cold eyes made Parker want to open her mouth once more, to plead with the young woman but she kept her lips firmly hut lest a sob escape. She stood up slowly from her seat at the table and made her way to Jarod. She kissed him softly then wrapped her arms around his torso to hug him fiercely. "I'm just going to pack." Standing straight she walked toward the back of Jarod's wing, "You need to get your box out of my car though." She refused to look at any of the occupants of the dining room as her legs worked on autopilot, her heart was breaking, and she could feel it crumbling in her chest.

In the bedroom that she already wanted to spend the rest of her life in she got together the few possessions that she had unpacked last night. Packing them only took a few minutes. She reached blindly for the keys to her car, the tears she refused to let fall blurring the room to obscurity.

Jarod was blocking the doorway by the time Parker turned around. "I'm not letting you leave Parker. I can't loose you again." He reached out for her and she stumbled back from his embrace shaking her head.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be, please. I'm not welcome here and I can't stay in another place where I don't belong."

A voice behind Jarod spoke. "But you do belong here, dear. You belong with my son and Emily is just going to have to deal with that. Now why don't you two unpack and I'll have a talk with my daughter, and no funny business Ethan and JJ are on their way back here."

Parker gave the retreating figure of Major Charles a watery smile. "Jarod…?" She was so unsure of what was happening it would all be fine if he would just hold her and the sound in her voice prompted him to do just that. When Ethan and JJ entered the room it only took a moment before she was enveloped in their arms all of the most important people in her life hugging her.

She finally pulled away and motioned to her suitcase surreptitiously wiping the dampness from her cheeks. "So where should I start putting my things?" And the four of them began unpacking, talking and laughing like the family they had become.

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A/N: Okay I know I already had one of these but I wanted to know if anyone wanted one more chapter that would mainly be smuttiness. This is my first T fic and I kind of want to add it, but at the same time I think it's finished, any feedback would be amazingly helpful. Thanks for reading!


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